The main intentions for holding these events are…
- To spread awareness of the Children’s Fire, the Movement (CFM) and what it stands for.
- For each of us to hold, and begin to open a question such as “What legacy do [I/We] want to leave for our future generations?” or “how can [I/We] leave a brighter legacy for our future generations?”.
- To bring individuals and communities together around this deep caring for life and our future generations (remember, there will be people worldwide holding this question alongside you).
- To catalyse an on/offline conversation (based upon what our questions have begun to surface for us, and the images of our individual legacies that may now be starting to form).
- To enrich the Children’s fire Movement and its online presence with media created on the day (video, photography, poetry, children’s art etc).
The main focus for this event is to keep it simple and begin to open the above questions within the Self – to plant a seed if you will. And of course we would like this to become the catalyst for a wider, deeper conversation (see ‘The Next Step’ section below). Simply contemplating by a fire, especially when with friends and community, can be an impact-full and mind-opening experience in itself.
If you are not going to be part of a group event you can simply sit with a candle and hold the questions for yourself. We would encourage you to then make yourself known to the CFM community and join in with the wider conversation.
As much as we want to keep things simple, how we hold the questions for this event is of great importance so we do recommend reading the following sections on the supporting information page… How to measure your question, Everything begins with Self, Holding the question, and if you’re up for something potentially out of the ordinary, Getting Present.
A possible outline for an event…
These are purely suggestions (with some links to further information) – already established groups may well want to go deeper than what is outlined here – especially for the ‘Discussion’ part.
- Setting the scene.You may want to begin by setting the scene with a few words on the Equinox, World Appreciation Day (thought it would be good to include this!), the Children’s Fire and the Movement. See the Setting the scene section for suggestions.
- Light the fire.
- Talking Circle. A good way to bring the group together is to have a talking circle around the fire. This can be really simple and just involve each person speaking a few words… their name, where they’re from and a couple of words as to why they’re there. See Talking Circles and the Talking Stick.
- Holding the question. Allow yourselves time to hold the question in silence – don’t be tempted to be drawn into conversation during this period. It’s a good idea to ask someone to step forward and take responsibility for timing that piece and to signifying when that period begins and ends (maybe with a rattle or drum?). See the Holding the question section.
- Discussion, socialising and getting on camera! The wider (group/community) conversation can begin on the day too, if this works for you, but in the interest of keeping things simple we haven’t included lots of information regarding doing this in a structured way. For example, at the event I will be attending/guiding the focus will be more on allowing space for the wider community to get to know one another.
- Activities you could suggest may include, music, drumming, poetry, guided meditation (this could be used to go deeper into the questions)… be as creative as you like here. You can browse our Fire Events Facebook group for ideas or to upload your own.
- This time could also be good for capturing some statements of intent and support on video/camera! We’d really appreciate it if you could do this – see ‘Capturing your event on film’.
- We will continue to add more information on group work to our ‘Supporting Information’ page. Also, if people in groups are interested regarding how to facilitate group inquiry/wisdom gathering, I am holding the possibility of running webinars that may be a more effective way of doing this. If you live in the UK we will also be running community building courses that incorporate this.
- The Next Step. This is one of the most important aspects – to ask the group “where to now?”.
- see below
The next step
Though we’re initially suggesting that you focus upon opening the questions up within the Self, opening them up collectively and then moving towards action, is of great importance to us. Again, we have suggestions and it is up to you and your group members as to how you move with this.
Some suggestions before you disperse at the end of the evening…
- explain that we would like you to open the questions further as a group and get a feel for how they would like to do this. You could…
- start a private group on our CFM website (drop us a line and we’ll be happy to set this up and support you once up and running).
- or start your own private CFM group on Facebook (if you need help we can also set this up for you – it would be great if you could let us know if you do set one up yourselves).
- we have also setup a general Fire Events Facebook group where you can upload photos, video and share experiences of the events for all to see.
- ask if they would like to be sent more information regarding the CFM and how to get involved.
- create a contacts list on a sheet of paper (or spreadsheet if you have some tech available) and ask the group to leave their names and contact details on it.
- make some copies of the basic PDF flyer we have uploaded available for participants on the day so that they can do some research in the meantime. If resources are scarce just a few copies may be enough if you ask people to write down the web address on the flyer!
As mentioned above we will be running courses for community groups in the UK and will be running webinars in the future. If you do not live in the UK and are interested in attending a community building course (based upon the indigenous tradition that informs the Children’s Fire) please do let us know as it may be that we can locate a trained Council Guide in your country/area.
Practicalities
Food
It could be nice to ask participants to bring food to share for a potluck meal at some stage of the proceedings.
Fire
- Because we see fire as a metaphor for the Self, and Life, it is good to only feed the fire with good quality dry wood that is free of paint, nails etc. Also, no rubbish should be thrown onto it – treat the fire with the same level of respect that you would want to treat your own inner fire! See the Fire as a Metaphor section.
- Children should be informed of the potential dangers of fire (as well as its beauty) and to respect it by approaching it carefully (not running).
- Ensure that you have water nearby in case of an emergency and always ensure that at least one person is left tending the fire at any time.
- Ensure that you have put the fire out completely (a thorough soaking is required in some drier parts of the world) before leaving it.
Capturing your event on film…
To enrich the movement, and its online presence, with media created on the day (video, photographs, poetry, children’s art etc).
- It’d be great if you could get some video footage, or still shots, of your event for us to place on the website. Selected content will also be included on our Children’s Fire Movement’s promotional video (which will be released later in 2013)!
- Please ask all participants for permission before you start rolling the cameras!
- You may want to video as much of the preparation/lighting of the fire as you can before it gets dark. If it is dark, or low light, I’ve been informed that a wide aperture lens is recommended, you will need a high ISO setting and keep your camera’s resolution at it’s highest setting. If not, now worries just send us what you can :).
- Please upload your media using dropbox and then email us a link to the files. You can also upload video, stills etc to the FB group we have created.
- Unless you have good audio equipment, capturing the sound may also be a challenge. For this reason it would be good to limit background noise/chatter as much as possible.
- The statements for the video…
- For the fire event… “I am/We are [name(s) or name of organisation/community] and we are lighting/we lit a Children’s Fire – for our future generations.”
- General… “I am [name] and I support the Children’s Fire Movement in leaving a brighter legacy for our future generations.”. Or something along these lines :).
- Still photos… You can also send us a photograph along with a written statement, such as the above.
Donations
A couple of organisers have asked me if they should ask for donations to go towards the CFM. Well, of course if you feel that this is appropriate for your event then yes, that would be most appreciated – we really do need all the support we can get to keep things moving. However, this is purely optional and at your discretion.
You can find the link to donate to our maintenance fund from the ‘quick links’ page displayed below.
Another way you can help raise funds for the CFM is by downloading a copy of our Children’s Fire promotional song (also on our ‘quick links’ page below in the zerochiefs section) and then letting your friends know about it. Thank you.
For more information on the CFM
Go to our ‘quick links’ page (displayed below) to discover more about the Children’s Fire and the Movement…
